2026 Capital Budget Approved

A City scape with a green overlay that says Capital Budget 2026

City Council voted to approve the capital budget for 2026, totaling $34,179,203, at the March 10, 2026, Regular Council Meeting.

Capital projects cover a wide range of services including transportation improvements, street/sidewalk repair/rehabilitation, water system projects, housing projects, capital grants to community groups, snow clearing equipment, recreational facilities and playground infrastructure.

“The City remains committed to investing in its key priority areas for 2026," said Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth, Council lead for Finance. "From enhancing our sidewalk snow clearing operations to replacing vital infrastructure, we remain unwavering in our focus on making St. John's a more sustainable and vibrant community."

The full list of approved capital projects for 2026 can be found in the backgrounder below. Highlights include investing:

$11.6 M in fleet acquisition and asset management plan support
$10.6M in construction and development projects, including the annual grind and patch program to repair city streets; sidewalk, curb and gutter repairs; and culvert and storm sewer replacements. This also includes the City’s portion of cost-shared projects under the Canada Community-Building Fund
$5.8M to maintain water system infrastructure
$1.6M in parks and open spaces projects
$1.2M for transportation projects, including design work for new traffic control infrastructure and expansion of the shared-use path network
$950K for sustainability projects, such as tree planting initiatives, Urban Forest Master Plan, EV charging stations and retrofit projects
$700k for repairs and security upgrades to City facilities
$500K in capital grants for community groups
$250K in information technology projects
$100K in unallocated funds for contingencies that arise throughout the year.

The City’s Capital Budget is determined annually and funded primarily from an allocation from the City’s annual operating budget, as well as other sources. This program is different from the City’s larger cost-shared capital arrangements with the Federal and Provincial Governments, for which the City borrows its share of the cost.

Many of the projects outlined for 2026 support the strategic directions identified in the 2019-2029 Our City, Our Future Strategic Plan.

Backgrounder: 2026 Capital Budget

2026 Capital Projects	Amount
Fleet Acquisition	$11,539,724
Water Tax Funded Projects	$5,791,635
2026 Canada Community-Building Fund Allocation	$5,225,636
Grind and Patch Asphalt Rehabilitation	$1,800,000
Storm Sewer System Replacement - Barrows Road / Stones Rd	$1,700,000
Kelly’s Brook Shared Use Path – Phase 3	$850,000
Rotary Park Accessible Washroom	$700,000
Sidewalk, Curb and Gutter Repair	$650,000
City Building Repair and Maintenance	$600,000
Design - Paul Reynolds Community Centre Mechanical Retrofit	$600,000
Design - Long Pond Flood Control Structure	$500,000
Capital Grants Community Groups	$500,000
Watermain Upgrades - Southlands Boulevard	$400,000
Large Diameter Culvert Replacement	$400,000
2026 Brier	$300,000
IT Projects	$250,000
Quidi Vidi Slipway Replacement	$250,000
Design - Goldstone St. and Traffic Control Upgrades	$200,000
Bridge Rehabilitation - Bowring Park Duck Pond	$200,000
Bleacher Replacement Program	$200,000
Playground Replacement Program	$200,000
Annual Infill Sidewalk Program	$190,697
Asset Management Program Support Services	$150,000
Design - Signalized Intersection at Military Rd and Bonaventure Ave.	$150,000
Bowring Park Facilities Heating System Retrofits	$141,511
Waste Receptacles - Downtown	$130,000
EV Chargers	$110,000
Installation of CCTV & Access Controls at Riverhead Towers	$100,000
Preliminary Site Decommissioning Work	$100,000
Urban Forest Master Plan	$80,000
Design of Signalized Intersection at O’Leary Avenue and Pippy Place	$45,000
Residential Tree Planting Initiative	$25,000
2026 Unallocated Balance (uncommitted)	$100,000
Grand Total	$34,179,203